The Union Minister for MSME and Road Transport and Highways, Mr Nitin Gadkari, has informed that a policy on imports substitution is being thought of in the wake of the new economic situation created by the Covid-19 pandemic. He called upon various stakeholders to convert knowledge into wealth by improving quality through innovations and cutting down cost. He cited the example of a Nagpur-based MSME Orange cluster taking up PPE making from scratch. These PPEs cost between Rs 550 to Rs 650 against the market price of about Rs 1,200, for which the country was heavily import dependent. The cluster is in a position to supply large quantity of PPEs.
Addressing a meeting via video conferencing with the representatives of Association of Lady Entrepreneurs of India (ALEAP) on impact of Covid-19 on the startup ecosystem and MSMEs, the Minister emphasised that special focus towards export enhancement is the need of the hour and necessary practices shall be adopted to reduce power, logistics and production cost to become competitive in the global market. He added that there is need to focus on imports substitution to replace foreign imports with domestic production.
